Reveal: ‘They used the kids to get to parents like me’: How ICE’s human smuggling initiative targeted parents and children

March 4, 2019

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Reveal: ‘They used the kids to get to parents like me’: How ICE’s human smuggling initiative targeted parents and children

In the summer of 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement used unaccompanied immigrant children who were trying to reunite with their families to identify and target undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The operation swept up more than 400 people who had stepped forward as potential sponsors for unaccompanied children. NIJC and seven other human rights organizations filed a complaint at the time with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding the practice, but most of the families impacted by the operation were reluctant to speak publicly.

More than a year later, one father who was detained by ICE during this operation - who now faces deportation — spoke to Reveal, in a story featuring commentary from NIJC's policy director. Read the full story.